Mortalitas
by Arya Daeriel
Summary: When a man named Malificus begins destroying villages, Will, Halt, Gilan, and Horace are sent to investigate. But not all is as it seems...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Don't own, never have, never will.**

**A/N: I've wanted to write this for a long time. It will probably be AU in light of certain events that will take place.**

Will was sitting in Halt's old cabin, or rather his cabin, drinking his morning coffee when he heard horses coming up to the house. He heard Tug give a whinny of greeting so he guessed that the men on horseback were friends and most likely a mixture of Halt, Gilan, Horace, and Crowley arriving at his doorstep.

Sure enough, he heard the familiar sound of Halt's step tramp up the steps onto the porch followed by two other people. Moments later he heard a knock at the door.

"Come in, Halt!" Will called. The door opened with a squeak and Halt came in followed by Gilan and Crowley. Halt looked slightly annoyed that Will knew it was him at the door.

"Hello Halt, hello Gilan, hello Crowley," Will said then looked at Halt's expression. "What are you so annoyed about?"

"Nothing," Halt said, quickly changing back to the grim expression he usually wore.

Gilan snickered. "I seem to remember myself being in the same position just a few years ago with _somebody _knowing who I was before I came in the door."

"Except that time it was your mentor, not your apprentice," Halt growled.

"Oh, cheer up Halt, we all knew that I'd be as good as you someday!" Will said.

Halt cuffed the boy affectionately around the head, "But not this good."

Crowley chuckled, "Face it Halt, you're not the best ranger in the Corps anymore."

"Oh I'm not, am I?" Halt asked stalking towards Crowley.

Crowley faked a look of terror that might have been based on genuine fear, but Will would never know.

"No, I take it back, you are definitely the best ranger in the Corps!"

Halt looked satisfied until Crowley said, "After me of course."

Halt glared at him.

"What? It's true!"

Will and Gilan looked at the two senior rangers and burst into laughter stopping the argument about who was the better ranger.

"Alright," Will said once his laughter had subsided, "you can't have just come here to figure out which ranger is the best."

"True," Crowley said, immediately becoming serious and sitting down in an empty chair around Will's table. "We came here because there's trouble going on in one of the other fiefs. A man who calls himself Malificus **(1) **came to Thurlls Fief **(2)** and stayed in one of the outlying villages for four days. After he left, a group of approximately fifty men lead by a cloaked stranger came and destroyed the village, killing all of it's inhabitants."

"Why haven't I heard of this?" Will asked.

"Because Thurlls as you know is one of the outlying fiefs and the news hasn't reached Redmont yet since it only happened a week ago."

"And you suspect Malificus because…?"

"We suspect him because he was doing a lot of snooping about the layout of the village and the hooded man that led the small army had the same sword, a very unique sword so it would most likely be the same man."

"Ah… and has he been spotted anywhere else?"

"The ranger traveling between Prosda and Grenk says that he spotted him on the road but he didn't know who he was until it was too late," Halt put in. "The ranger says he looked as if he was heading towards Mennedia Fief."

"And I'm going to give a guess and say that you want me, Halt, and Gilan to go investigate?"

"That's about right," said Crowley, "but you're forgetting Horace. Malificus is obviously a swordsman and it would be a good idea to have a few on your side."

Will thought for a moment about what had he had been told, then said, "Well, we'd better go and get Horace then!" And he headed for the door.

"Wait a moment, Will!" Crowley called out after him. Will turned around with his hand on the doorknob.

"What?" he asked.

"You're the only one who's had your morning coffee and you didn't even finish it at that."

**1) Malificus means evil in Latin.**

**2) This is a fief I made up because it never says what all the names of the fiefs are.**

**Anyway, please review! They help feed my imagination!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Don't own, never have, never will.**

**A/N: Thank you to my three reviewers for reviewing! I hope you like this chapter too. Oh, and I've decided that this won't be AU. Rather how I imagine the last Ranger's Apprentice book to be. *evil grin***

After visiting Horace and explaining to him the task they had been assigned, the rangers and knight headed off for Mennedia Fief.

"How fare away exactly is Mennedia?" Horace asked for he had never been to this particular fief.

"Approximately a days ride. We should be there by nightfall," Halt said as they rode along. "When we get there we will divide up to search the outlying villages for Malificus."

"And what exactly arewe going to do if we find him?" Horace had been wondering this. If he was the man behind the attack then he should be apprehended immediately but they wouldn't know if he was the right person until it was probably too late.

"When we find him we will shadow him wherever her goes. Make note of whomever he talks to," Halt explained.

"Yes, but what about the slight risk of us not finding out that it's the right person until it's too late?"

"That is a risk we'll have to take," Will said.

True to Halt's word, they reach Mennedia Fief by nightfall and got a room in one of the inns in a village.

"Alright," Halt said. They were in the room in the inn deciding who should go where. "Horace and Will, you go to the village of Salismore and look for him. Gilan and I will look around here and see what we can find."

Will and Horace nodded in understanding.

"Now the distinctive thing about his sword… I don't really believe it myself, but according to the ranger, Malificus' sword is identical to Morgarath's sword."

Horace's jaw couldn't have dropped any lower.

"M-Morgarath's sword?" he stuttered. Horace never stuttered unless he was in absolute shock and this was an absolute shock.

"I had a hard time believing it too," Will said. "But the ranger wouldn't have said it if it wasn't true."

"So, are you saying that somebody dug up the sword from Morgarath's grave?" Horace asked

"It appears so."

"And if he took the sword he probably can wield it?"

"Probably."

"It's going to be like Morgarath all over again!"

"Let's hope not. Come on, we should get going before it get's too late."

"That would be a good idea as it looks as though there's going to be a storm tonight," Halt said.

Will and Horace headed off for Salismore and Gilan and Halt went to look around the taverns and inns in the village they were residing in.

**~!~**

Will and Horace had looked in almost every tavern and inn except one. It was the Cracked Violin. The Cracked Violin was definitely not the finest inn in town but it was one all the same. The chatter stopped when they entered the inn and everybody looked their way. Seeing two heavily armed strangers in Salismore was not a usual occurrence.

Will and Horace went up to the bar and ordered two coffees. When their drinks were ready they sat down and looked around.

"See anybody with Morgarath's sword?" Will whispered to Horace.

"Not a soul," Horace said.

They sat there like that, just sipping their coffee for quite a while but nobody resembling the man they were looking for appeared.

"Maybe we should leave," Horace said after they had been sitting there for nearly two hours and most of the customers had either left or gown to bed. "It doesn't look like he's going to show up tonight."

"I'm thinking that we should too," Will agreed. Halt and Gilan would start wondering why they hadn't come back yet. He and Horace had told Halt that one of them would go back and inform him if Malificus showed up while the other would follow Malificus.

Seeing as it was unlikely that Malificus would show up that evening, Will and Horace got up to leave and as they did heard a crack of thunder signifying the beginning of the storm. When they got outside, sure enough it was pouring rain.

Will and Horace ran to the stables and got Tug and Kicker saddled up. Just as they left the stables though they saw a figure illuminated by a flash of lightening. He somehow looked familiar to Horace but he knew no one in Salismore. Another flash of lightening illuminated the strangers sword. A very familiar sword. Morgarath's sword to be exact. It was Malificus.

One last flash of lightening illuminated Malificus' face and both Horace and Will were shocked. Even Will knew who that face belonged to. It was Morgarath himself.

**Dun, dun, dun, dun! Shocker there, wasn't it? I would have this chapter be longer but then it would run into the next chapter. Please review or someone will die. Wait, someone will probably die anyway! Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Don't own, never have, never will.**

**A/N: It is probably not a good idea to be writing this fic considering the movie I just watched, but no matter, I am. You see, I just watched a movie called What Lies Beneath where this guy murders his student that he had an affair with then he murders tries to murder his wife. His wife is only saved by the student come back from the dead. So, considering what this story involves, I'm going to have nightmares. And on a second note, I WANT HALT'S PERIL! The library won't order it, the bookstore doesn't have it, and I used up my Amazon gift certificate on The Kings of Clonmel! I wants it! And I's shall beg my mom for it! Now anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

_One last flash of lightening illuminated Malificus' face and both Horace and Will were shocked. Even Will knew who that face belonged to. It was Morgarath himself._

Will and Horace's jaws would have literally dropped to the ground if that was possible. Morgarath was dead, wasn't he? Horace had killed him. He had sliced off his head to be exact. **(1)** He couldn't still be alive! But he was. There was no doubt about it, Malificus and Morgarath were one and the same.

What did they do now though? Neither Horace nor Will were fool enough to try to approach Morgarath for they were sure he would notice them. And more importantly, how was Morgarath still alive? Will had a feeling that some kind of sorcery was involved.

A cloaked figure then appeared next to Morgarath and started talking to him. The thunder and lightening had now stopped so the couldn't see who the newcomer was, but they heard Morgarath call him Malkallam.

_Not Malcolm, _Will thought. Horace was thinking the exact same thing. Only a few minutes later Malkallam disappeared again and Morgarath entered the tavern.

Will and Horace stood frozen in the rain for several minutes after Morgarath entered the tavern.

"We should go and tell Halt," Will finally said.

Neither of them spoke as they saddled mounted their horses and rode off into the night. It wasn't until they had almost reached the village that they had originally arrived in that the silence was broken.

"It just doesn't make sense!" Horace exclaimed.

"I know Horace. I don't understand it either," Will replied.

"Do you think that Malkallam, or Malcolm who I really doubt it is, could have brought him back?"

"I don't know. If the legends are true, I suppose it is possible. I don't believe that Malcolm would side with Morgarath though."

Horace was silent for several moments then said, "Not to mention the fact that Malcolm said himself he's that not the real Malkallam."

"I know," Will sighed. "The likelihood of it being Malcolm is very slim. We should get to Halt and Gilan and tell them."

They entered the village and started looking for Halt and Gilan. They found them eventually leaving an inn.

"Will! Horace!" Gilan called. "What are you doing back already?"

Will and Horace brought their horses to a stop before them.

"You're not going to believe this," Will said.

"Why wouldn't we believe what?" Halt asked.

"Let's go back to the inn," Horace said. "Even though it's not much, it'll take a while to explain and discuss."

Halt nodded and the four headed back to the inn they were staying at.

Once they were in their room with the door safely shut, Halt asked, "So, what is this about?"

"Halt, Malificus isn't just any swordsman. He's Morgarath," Will said solemnly.

Halt and Gilan's jaws dropped much like Horace and Will's had when they had first seen Morgarath.

"Are you sure?" Gilan asked.

"I'm sure of it. There was no doubt about it."

"But how…?"

"We don't know," Horace said.

"But we have an idea how," Will said grinning slightly.

"And that would be?" Gilan inquired. Halt, who had been staying silent the entire time was listening intently.

"When we saw Morgarath he was about to go into the tavern we had just left, the Cracked Violin. Before he entered someone appeared next to him, apparently out of thin air. Morgarath called him Malkallam."

"As in the man you met when you went to Macindaw? Malcolm?" Halt asked.

"We thought of that, but he wasn't the real Malkallam if you'll remember."

"So, you're saying there's a real Malkallam and Morgarath's back from the dead?"

"You don't believe us, do you," Will said.

"Will, I would know if you were just joking and I can tell you aren't. It's just so…." Halt trailed off.

"So if this is the real Malkallam and Morgarath back from the dead, what do we do?" Gilan asked.

"Well first we need to alert Crowley," Halt said. "And then we should find Malcolm. Maybe he has some idea about the real Malkallam, after all he would have to have known a lot about him to be able to impersonate him. And then we need to defeat Morgarath however that may be."

"Meaning we have to defeat him again," Horace put in. "How Malkallam managed to put his head back on, I don't want to know."

"And I doubt you ever will know!" Will said. "That is unless you got _your _head cut off."

"Just like you will probably never have the experience of having your back against a cliff while facing a charging axeman," Gilan said.

The corners of Halt's mouth turned up slightly, the closest he got to a smile. It was amazing how young people managed to laugh in light of dire circumstances.

**1) I can't remember exactly how Horace killed him nor do I have my books on hand. I think he was beheaded, but I'm not sure. Let's just stick with the beheading though. His death is more certain that way.**

**And I feel like this is a really bad chapter because I feel like I'm making them all sound so stupid.**

**And if anybody wants an update, I want another 5 reviews!**


End file.
